1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a gear indicator for a bicycle. More specifically, the present invention relates to a gear indicator that is operatively connected to a part of the transmission system of a bicycle to indicate the position of the front or rear gears of a bicycle.
2. Background Information
Bicycling is becoming an increasingly popular form of recreation as well as a means of transportation. Moreover, bicycling has become a very popular competitive sport. Whether the bicycle is used for recreation, transportation or competition, the bicycle industry is constantly improving their components. In particular, bicycle components are constantly becoming lighter and less expensive while maintaining a high level of performance. Moreover, bicycle components are constantly being designed so as to be more ergonomic and user friendly. One particular component of the bicycle that has been extensively redesigned over the past years, are the shifting units of bicycles.
There are many types of shifting units that are currently available on the market. The shifting units range in quality and price. Regardless of the quality and price of the shifting unit, the shifting unit typically will have some sort of gear position indicator. Typically, the gear position indicator is located at the take-up member of the shift operating device that winds up the inner wire of the shift control cable.
One example of an inexpensive gear position indicator is disclosed in German Publication 91 13 406.4. The gear position indicator of this German Publication is mounted in the shift cable between the shift operating device and the derailleur. The gear position indicator has a housing secured to the outer casing of the shift cable and an indicator member frictionally coupled to the inner wire of the shift cable. One problem with this gear position indicator is that the indicator member can become misaligned with the markings on the housing. The gear position indicator must be disassembled to realign the indicator member with the markings on the housing.
Another problem with some prior art gear position indicators is that the gear position indicator is mounted on the shift operating device. Thus, the rider must look towards the handle portion of the handlebars in order to determine the current gear positions. Accordingly, this is very inconvenient for the rider. An example of such a shifting device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,018 to Kawakami. This patent discloses gear position indicators that are operated by a cable that is connected to the take up member. These gear position indicators do not have any adjustment mechanism for compensating for cable elongation or the indicator member becoming misaligned from the markings on the housing.
In view of the above, there exists a need for a gear indicator that can be easily adjusted in the event that the cable becomes elongated or the indicator member becomes misaligned and that overcomes the above mentioned problems in the prior art. This invention addresses this need in the prior art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.
One object of the present invention is to provide a gear indicator that can be easily adjusted in the event that the cable becomes elongated or the indicator member becomes misaligned.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a gear indicator that can be remotely mounted on a center portion of the handlebar for easy viewing of the gear position.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a gear indicator that is lightweight in design.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a gear indicator that can be relatively easy to manufacture by conventional manufacturing techniques.
Yet still another object of the present invention is to provide a gear indicator that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an indicator for a bicycle which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art noted above.
The above objects can be fulfilled, according to the present invention, by providing a gear indicator for indicating the current gear position of the bicycle. The gear indicator is coupled to a shift operating device via a cable. The gear indicator for the bicycle basically comprises a cable having a first cable end and an indicator member slidably coupled to the cable adjacent the first cable end; a housing having the first cable end and the indicator member movably located therein, and a viewing opening to view movement of the indicator member; and a biasing member having a first biasing end coupled to the first cable end and a second biasing end coupled to the housing.
In a preferred embodiment, an indicator member is frictionally mounted on the inner wire of the indicator cable for automatically adjusting the indicator member in the event that the cable becomes elongated or the indicator member becomes misaligned. The housing has a biasing member coupled between one wall of an interior cavity and the first end of the inner wire of the cable indicator for biasing the indicator member to one of its end positions. An abutment or stopper is provided within the housing to engage indicator member to automatically adjust the indicator member along the cable in the event that the cable becomes elongated or the indicator member becomes misaligned. In other embodiments, a gear position indicia portion of the housing is frictionally coupled to the housing for manually or automatically adjusting the gear position indicia relative to the indicator member.
Consequently, the position of the indicator member relative to the inner wire is automatically adjusted when indicator cable is permanently elongated or the indicator member becomes misaligned with the markings on the housing. In this way, a permanent elongation of the wire and the like is automatically adjusted. This automatic adjustment may be utilized also when the indicator is installed initially.
These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses several preferred embodiments of the present invention.